SEATTLE—Colton Cowser is set to play his first game for the Orioles since March 30th when he fractured his left thumb diving into first base. Cowser is batting sixth and playing center field on Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners. He played three games each at High-A Aberdeen and Triple-A Norfolk
“Feeling good. It was one of those things where I needed to get some [at-bats], and I was able to do so. Was fighting the weather a little bit.”
Cowser hit .400 (8-for-20) with four RBIs. He had been on the 60-day injured list.
“My goal is to come in and seamlessly get back in there and hopefully keep things rolling,” Cowser said. “Working on a simple approach down there hopefully translates up here. They were gratifying. All of it was to get back to this point.”
Interim manager Tony Mansolino was happy to see Cowser back.
“We missed him. We knew we were going to miss him,” Mansolino said. “We knew it. To the extent, I’m not so sure. Even if everyone else stayed in the lineup and avoided all the other injuries, I just think the outfield defense, the baserunning, the offense, the at-bats, the ability to draw walks. He can beat you in a lot of different ways. He can help you win a game in a lot of different ways. He’s not a one-trick pony type of player. We’re excited for the personality. He’s a huge personality in the clubhouse. The whole package is great, and we’re excited to have him.”
Cowser’s absence was even more glaring when centerfielder Cedric Mullins went on the 10-day injured list on Friday with a strained right hamstring. The Orioles used Dylan Carlson and Jorge Mateo in center last weekend.
“We’re a little thin right now,” Mansolino said. “We’ve gone through a lot of our depth out there. You start playing infielders out there, and you play young kids out there, and there are going to be some mistakes. We’ve hung in there recently and guys have certainly gotten a little bit better out there. You get a defender like Cowser out there, and it definitely helps.”
Mansolino expects Cowser to play center until Mullins returns.
“Coming off a rehab, we’re not going to run him out there 10 straight days,” he said. “I don’t know if that would be wise. He’s working his way back into the everyday responsibilities of an outfielder. When he’s out there, I think there’s a good chance we’ll see him out there. We’ll figure it out there starting tonight.”
Updates on Westburg, O’Neill Laureano
Infielder Jordan Westburg continues his rehab assignment at Norfolk. He’s been out with a strained left hamstring injury.
Mansolino said that he expected Westburg to play for Norfolk on Tuesday and Wednesday, so it’s possible he’ll rejoin the Orioles in Sacramento on Friday.
Outfielder Tyler O’Neill is with the Orioles in Seattle, and he’ll join the Tides in Louisville later this week. He’s been out with a left shoulder injury.
“He wanted to be with us here on this trip,” Mansolino said. “We wanted to be with the players on this trip. It’s a little bit easier to go through [batting practice] and balls off the bat and visuals at a major league stadium.”
Outfielder Ramón Laureano, out with a sprained left ankle, is scheduled to play with Norfolk on Wednesday.
Notes: Catcher Chadwick Tromp, who declared free agency after he declined an outright assignment to Norfolk, was re-signed to a minor league contract. He’s with the team as a taxi squad catcher. … Right-hander Brandon Young, who was out with a shoulder issue, has begun a rehab assignment with Aberdeen.
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